Archive of "Don’t panic over Aids - ministry", The Straits Times, 16 April 1985
=Scan of article & page= =Editable text of article= Don’t panic over Aids - ministry Action taken to contain the problem By KONG SOOK CHIN DON’T panic...the Health Ministry gave this advice yesterday to the public following growing concern over the discovery here of a virus which could develop into the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (Aids). People who are not promiscuous should not worry about getting Aids as it is contracted through intimate sexual contact, Dr Kwa Soon Bee, Permanent Secretary (Health)and Director of Medical Services, told a press conference at the Ministry of Health. "Avoid promiscuity," he advised. The ministry's disclosure last week that three men were found to have the Aids related virus HTLV-III touched off a scare. This was despite a ministry statement that day which said that Aids is not spread through contact at work, places of entertainment and public transport. Dr Kwa called the press conference to repeat this assurance, respond to press reports on Aids, and elaborate further on the condition of the three men. He also gave an assurance that steps have been taken to ensure the safety of medical staff who will have to deal with cases of Aids. He said that there has been no substantiated study that Aids can be contracted through the sharing of food or ordinary social contact. The infectiousness is not like flu and you do not get Aids just by sitting next to a patient or a carrier, he said. Dr Kwa said that the ministry was still trying to trace the contacts of the three men who have the HTLV-III virus. There are no other known carriers of the virus to date apart from the three men. And there is no known case of "clinical Aids” in Singapore, he stressed. Clinical Aids refers to the condition when the person actually has Aids. The three men, who are homosexual prostitutes, do not have clinical Aids, although one of them has had slight weight loss and fever, which are some symptoms of the disease. The other two do not have any Aids symptoms. Asked what steps were being taken to stop these men from spreading the HTLV-IIl virus, Dr Kwa replied: “We can only counsel them not to be so promiscuous. If that’s their way of life (homosexual prostitution), there’s little we can do about it." The men have been told to report for weekly check-ups. Dr Kwa said a checkup once a week is adequate because “it is not likely that they will develop Aids suddenly*'. He called on the media and public to see the three men’s plight “in perspective”. There is a big jump from carrying the HTLV-III virus to contracting Aids. It is not necessary to ostracise or incarcerate the men in a camp, he said. The ministry has no intention of ostracising everyone who has a positive blood reaction to the test for Aids, he added. But any case of clinical Aids would immediately be hospitalised at the Communicable Disease Centre, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, which is fully prepared to handle infectious diseases including Aids, he said. Disputed 'revolt' report Dr Kwa said that the ministry was gathering more information before coming up with a "master plan" to deal with the disease. It is gathering data on how many people in the "high risk groups" such as male homosexual prostitutes have the virus and whether female prostitutes have it too. This can be tested when more detection kits for Aids arrive. Dr Kwa disputed a press report that an Aids scare had caused staff at Middle Road hospital to “revolt”. The report implied that two doctors had resigned rather than deal with Aids patients and that 26 nurses had asked for transfers. He said the resignations had nothing to do with Aids and that the nurses, 25 in all, from the Communicable Disease Centre at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, were believed to have been “pressured” into asking for transfers. He did not say by whom. Two or three of the nurses had already withdrawn their letters. He said that when and if clinical Aids surfaced, anyone who asked for a transfer will have his request considered. • EDITORIAL: Page 18 Conference draws 2,000 from 30 countries ATLANTA (Georgia), Mon. - The world’s first major conference on Aids (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) begins here today amid signs that the disease may be spreading into the general population. International interest in Aids for which there is as yet no cure or effective treatment, was indicated by the 2,000 scientists from 30 countries who registered to attend the three-day conference. Dr Gary Noble of the United States National Centre for Disease Control said nearly 700 reports on Aids had been submitted for the conference, almost double the number that could be accommodated. “It’s obvious that the infections with the Aids virus have the potential for causing infections in all the population,” he said. But although Aids has been called the “gay plague”, scientists are now investigating the possibility that it can be spread through saliva. There is also evidence the virus can be spread by heterosexual contact. More recently, an American study in Zaire indicated that people living in the same household with Aids victims might face an increased risk of getting the disease. Up to April 8, a total of 9,405 cases of Aids and 4,533 deaths had been reported in the US. Another 1,765 cases have occurred in 36 other countries, according to latest official figures - UPI Our man is there too DR Ong Yong Wan, head of the Health Ministry's Advisory Committee on Aids, is also attending the Aids (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) conference in Atlanta. =See also= *Archive of "Three in S’pore found with Aids-linked virus", The Straits Times, 10 April 1985 *Archive of "Aids virus: Doctor who 'found it'", The Sunday Times, 14 April 1985 *Archive of "A chance to be ahead in medicine", The Singapore Monitor, 16 April 1985 *Archive of "Aids on ‘must report’ list", The Straits Times, 17 April 1985 *Archive of "Undergrads to be taught about Aids", The Straits Times, 21 April 1885 *Archive of "16 more may be carriers of Aids virus", The Straits Times, 30 April 1985 *Archive of "Aids doctor thanks mum", The Straits Times, 12 May 1985 *Archive of "Special lab to do Aids tests soon", The Straits Times, 18 May 1985 *Archive of "Man with Aids related virus in hospital", The Straits Times, 21 July 1985 *Archive of "Aids carrier leaves hospital", The Straits Times, 28 July 1985 *Archive of "Ministry steps up Aids drive", The Straits Times, 5 September 1985 *Archive of "Singapore ‘first in the world’ to have 100 % screening of donor blood", The Straits Times, 11 September 1985 *Archive of "S’pore-Stanford research tie-up bid", The Straits Times, 10 October 1985 *Archive of "Aids: 20,000 cleared", The Straits Times, 29 November 1985 *Archive of "200 turn up for first public medical convention", The Straits Times, 28 April 1986 *Archive of "Screening tests likely to uncover more Aids carriers", The Straits Times, 1 May 1986 *Archive of "100 people could be Aids carriers here: Expert", The Straits Times, 3 August 1986 *Archive of "Aids claims first victim here", The Straits Times, 11 April 1987 *Archive of "Fear of Aids pushes up condom sales", The Straits Times, 19 April 1987 *Archive of "Govt dental clinics phasing out boiling", The Straits Times, 1 October 1987 *Earliest cases of HIV/AIDS in Singapore *HIV/AIDS in Singapore's LGBT community *Paddy Chew *Avin Tan *Ajmal Khan *Calvin Tan *Adrian Tyler =References= *Kong Sook Chin, "Don’t panic over Aids - ministry", The Straits Times, 16 April 1985[]. =Acknowledgements= This article was archived by Roy Tan. Category:Archive of LGBT articles